UFC Rankings Update: ‘Jacare’ Passes Rockhold Following UFC 221

The UFC went back to Australia last weekend (Sat., February 10, 2018) with UFC 221 from the Perth Arena in Perth, and Yoel Romero stole the show by knocking out former champ Luke Rockhold in the third round of the main event.

It was a rough weekend for Rockhold, as he was originally set to face champion Robert Whittaker before “The Reaper” got injured, and then Romero missed weight but still won. The newly updated official UFC rankings added a bit of insult to injury for Rockhold, as he fell to No. 3 when Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza passed him to take the No. 2 spot.

The other division that saw significant movement was heavyweight, where rising prospect Curtis Blaydes moved up four spots to No. 5 for his wrestling-focused decision win over longtime veteran Mark Hunt, who fell one spot to No. 6, in the co-main event. Australian knockout artist Tai Tuivasa made his debut on the heavyweight rankings at No. 15 after a dominant stoppage of Cyril Asker in Perth.